1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge structure for a vehicle open/close body, such as a door and a trunk lid of a vehicle, for rotatably fixing the vehicle open/close body to a vehicle body.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, when a linear member such as a harness and a wire for various devices such as a lamp installed in a door or a trunk lid of a vehicle is wired, the linear member is wired along a long hinge member constituting a hinge mechanism of the door and trunk lid.
FIG. 15 is an illustration showing an installation condition of a hinge structure of a conventional vehicle open/close body, which is an enlarged perspective view of a corner portion of a trunk lid when the open/close body is opened. FIG. 16 is also an illustration showing an installation condition of a hinge structure of a conventional vehicle open/close body, which is an enlarged perspective view of a corner portion of a trunk lid when the open/close body is opened. FIG. 17 is an illustration showing a hinge structure of a conventional vehicle open/close body, which is an enlarged cross sectional view of a main portion of a hinge member provided with a harness.
For example, as shown in FIG. 17, a hinge structure 400 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-333723, in which a long protector body 410 having a U-shaped cross section for housing a harness 430 is disposed along a long hinge member 450, and an outer periphery of the protector body 410 and hinge member 450 is covered by a cover member 470 having a U-shaped cross section and a cap member 420. Meanwhile, the long hinge member 450 has a concave groove 451 along an extending direction thereof and another harness 440 is housed in the concave groove 451.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, a trunk room 110 for putting baggage is disposed in a rear portion of a vehicle body. An opening portion 120 of the trunk room 110 is opened and closed by an open/close body such as a trunk lid for putting the baggage in the trunk room 110. The open/close body is rotatably fixed to a vehicle body 100 via, for example, long hinge members 210, 310. Each front end portion of a pair of the hinge members 210, 310 is fixed to right and left sides of the open/close body, and each anchor portion thereof is rotatably fixed to an axis of the vehicle body 100 by passing through each of the right and left corner portions 121 of the trunk room 110.
A weather-strip 500 made of rubber is disposed on a periphery of the opening portion 120 of the trunk room 110. The opening portion 120 to which the weather-strip 500 is fixed is formed such that a corner portion 121 is formed in a circular arc. In addition, the open/close body such as a door and a trunk lid of the vehicle may be provided with various devices such as a lamp and a locking device. These various devices may be provided with a linear member such as a harness for connecting the devices to, for example, a power source installed in the vehicle body and a wire for opening the trunk lid.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, when the linear members such as the harness and wire are connected to the various devices of the open/close body, the linear members are wired along the long hinge members 210, 310, 450 which constitute a hinge mechanism of the door or the trunk room.
For example, in a hinge structure 200 shown in FIG. 15, a clip 240 for holding harnesses 220, 230 is disposed on a lateral surface of the hinge member 210 having a square cross section, and the harnesses 220, 230 are fixed on the lateral surface of the hinge member 210 by the clip 240.
In addition, in a hinge structure 300 shown in FIG. 16, the hinge member 310 is formed in a U-shape in cross section so that the harness 320 can be housed in the hinge member 310, thereby the harness 320 is housed inside the hinge member 310 and held by a tape 330 and the like.
However, in the hinge structure 200 shown in FIG. 15, since the harnesses 220, 230 are disposed on the lateral surface of the hinge member 210, the hinge member 210 protrudes by an installation space S200 of the harnesses 220, 230 toward the edge of the trunk room 110.
On the other hand, when the hinge member 210 is disposed close to an edge of the opening portion 120 in the vehicle width direction for reducing the protrusion of the hinge member 210 toward the trunk room 110, since the corner portion 121 is formed in the circular arc, a distance L200 between the hinge member 210 and a front edge of the opening portion 120 becomes long, thereby resulting in producing a wide gap between the hinge member 210 and the front periphery of the opening portion 120.
In addition, in the hinge structure 200, since the harnesses 220, 230 are barely disposed on the lateral surface of the hinge member 210, the appearance is not good.
In addition, in the hinge structure 300 shown in FIG. 16, since the hinge member 310 having a U-shaped cross section has a role of covering the harness 320, the harness 320 is hardly seen from the rear side of the vehicle, thereby resulting in improvement of the appearance. However, since the harness 320 is housed in the hinge member 310, the hinge member 310 grows in size.
In addition, since the hinge member 310 is not formed in a shape following the shape of the corner portion 121, if the hinge member 310 is disposed close to the front edge of the opening portion 120, a gap S300 between a side edge of the opening portion 120 and the hinge member 310 becomes wide although a gap L300 between the front edge of the opening portion 120 and the hinge member 310 becomes narrow.
Therefore, a protrusion S400 of a lining 130, where an anchor portion of the hinge member 310 is housed, becomes large due to growing of the hinge member 310 in size and expansions of the gaps L330, S300, thereby resulting in producing a small storage space of the trunk room 110 for putting the baggage therein.
In a structure of the opening portion 120 of, for example, a door or a trunk room, it is preferable to dispose the door hinge structures 200, 300 as close to the corner portion 121 of the opening portion 120 as possible for widely utilizing the opening portion 120.
However, in a door hinge structure 400 (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-333723) shown in FIG. 17, since a cross section of a hinge member 470 grows in size to protrude inside the opening portion, the space of the opening portion is reduced.
In addition, a corner portion of the opening portion is formed in a curved shape (circular arc) in many cases. However, since the conventional door hinge structure 400 is formed in an angulated shape, if the door hinge structure 400 is moved close to the corner portion of the opening portion, a clearance between the door hinge structure 400 and the corner portion varies, thereby resulting in deterioration of the appearance.
The present invention has been developed considering the problems described above, and it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a hinge structure for a vehicle open/close body, which reduces the protrusion toward the opening portion, as well as improves appearance of the vehicle when the vehicle open/close body is opened.